Mathematician:Robert of Chester

Mathematician

English Arabist of the $12$th century who translated several books from Arabic to Latin.

Hence appears to be the first to introduce the Arabic numerals to Europe.

His most immediate legacy was his use of the word sine (as sinus, meaning bay or fold) for the word that in the original Indian meant bow or chord.

Some credit Gerard of Cremona for this, but Gerard now appears to have followed Robert.

Nationality

English

History

• Born: c. 1100 in Chester, England
• Died: unknown

Translations

• 1144: Liber de Compositione Alchimiae by Abu Mūsā Jābir ibn Hayyān
• 1145: Liber Algebrae et Almucabol, a translation of Al-Kitāb al-muḫtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-ğabr wa-l-muqābala by Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi

Sources

• 1986: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers ... (previous) ... (next): $0$ Zero
• 1997: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $0$ Zero
• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Robert of Chester (c. 1100)
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Robert of Chester (c. 1100)